ABOUT MERCY HOUSE GLOBAL AND OUR ARTISAN GROUPS

Mercy House Global

RESCUE A GIRL. EMPOWER A FAMILY. REDEEM A GENERATION.

Mercy House exists to engage, empower and disciple women around the globe in Jesus’ name. We provide for the rescue of pregnant girls in Kenya and provide a home for them. We empower their families and many others with dignified work so we can redeem future generations. We do this by engaging those with resources to say yes to the plight of women in poverty by empowering women around the world through partnerships and sustainable Fair Trade product development.

In 2010, Mercy House Global opened Rehema (Swahili word for “mercy”) House with 6 open beds and prayers that God would allow us to rescue vulnerable girls in need of hope and healing. As of April 2019, 54 pregnant girls between the ages of 12-16 have been rescued from the most desperate of situations. The girls who live at Rehema House receive maternal care, counseling, education, and a safe place to heal from the trauma they have endured. Mercy House Global also brings business training and dignified jobs to family members of some of the girls in the program, so that one day they will have a safe home to return to with their little ones! The goal is to break the vicious cycle of poverty and abuse through rescue, care, and dignified jobs.

Learn more at: mercyhouseglobal.org/rehema-house

Fair Trade Friday Clubs

FIGHTING POVERTY THROUGH DIGNIFIED & CONSISTENT EMPLOYMENT

Another way we provide dignified jobs for our artisans in Kenya and others across the globe is through our Fair Trade Friday monthly subscription clubs. Each month, with the help of our faithful volunteers, we ship out approximately 3,400 packages of Fair Trade goodies to our dedicated monthly subscribers of Fair Trade Friday | The Original Box, Earring of the Month, Bracelet of the Month, and Grace Case.

When we place large orders with groups, we are able to provide steady employment to their artisans and empower them through dignified jobs. Today, we partner with more than 70 groups in over 30 countries to fulfill our FTF subscriptions. Every year we purchase more than $1,000,000 in fair trade product, creating and sustaining thousands of jobs across the globe!

Not only are we providing dignified work, but all of the proceeds from our subscription clubs go directly back into funding our maternity homes in Kenya!

DID YOU KNOW?

There are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally.

81% are trapped in forced labor | 25% are children | 75% are women and girls.*

Many of the girls in our maternity homes have been labor and/or sex trafficked. When you purchase items in our online store or through our Fair Trade Friday subscriptions, you are supporting Fair Trade standards and livable wages for the precious artisans we work with. Learn more at: fairtradefriday.club | *source: International Labour Organization

Our Work in Kenya

CLARICE’S STORY

Clarice lived in a shack at the bottom of the world’s largest slum for more than 30 years. She raised her family in very difficult circumstances and constantly did whatever she could do to guarantee their survival. When one of her family members, a 12 year old, was brutalized and raped and became pregnant, Clarice was devastated. How would she feed another mouth on their meager existence?

HOW WOULD THIS ENDLESS CYCLE OF OPPRESSION & POVERTY END? Our maternity homes in Kenya rescued that broken little girl and helped her become a mother more than 3 years ago and today she is thriving. And sweet Clarice who thought she would spend the rest of her life just surviving, is now sitting at a loom 5 days a week in our Miujiza (miracle) artisan group. We have watched God take an impossible situation and do the miraculous!

DID YOU KNOW?

13,000 Kenyan girls have been kicked out of school for being pregnant (Center for Reproductive Rights).

25% of pregnant women in Kenya are HIV positive (ObGyn in Kenya).

Every 30 minutes, a woman is raped in Kenya (Nairobi Women’s Hospital).

Our Work in Kenya

MERCY HOUSE’S ARTISAN GROUPS

We know God has called us to rescue pregnant teens in Kenya, and through this we have seen the need to break the cycle of poverty that leads to such devastation. Through job creation, we are able to provide dignified work to struggling parents, empowering them to put food on the table, provide education for their children, move to safer homes, and so much more!

As an Ambassador, you will be matched with an artisan in one of our groups in the slums near Nairobi, Kenya.

MIUJIZA | Textiles and Ceramics- Miujiza means “miracle” in Swahili and that’s exactly what this group is! Miujiza is comprised of the mothers (and one aunt) of the teen moms in our maternity homes. Against all odds, these women have become master weavers and ceramic artisans, and are creating gorgeous rugs, throws, and beads.

STREET HOPE | Stitched Leather and Felt Goods- SH is comprised of precious women in Mathare slum who had lived their whole lives on the street. Many were orphaned as children and have only known life on the street, others were homeless due to difficult circumstances, and all were doing whatever was necessary to survive and provide basic needs for their children. We started with simple hand stitches, and one by one we have seen these women grow in their skills, become confident, provide food and schooling for their children, learn how to read, overcome addiction, and move into their own homes!

HAVE HOPE | Jewelry- HH began as a community outreach of MHG to 20 women in the Kairobungi slum in Kenya, and they have been meeting for Bible study since 2010. With a need to improve their lives, they began making paper bead jewelry as a way to receive sustainable income for them and their families. They started calling their group “Have Hope,” because they did not have any hope, but desired it. The women in HH are so hungry to learn these new skills, and it is beautiful and humbling to work alongside them and watch them grow.